skategoat Posted October 19, 2006 Report Share Posted October 19, 2006 My trusty Sony mini-DV has died after 6 years. I need a new one. Do I go with the DVD camcorders, HDD or stick with mini-DV? Which takes more abuse? Which is easier to do transfer to my Mac and edit with iMovie? How about HQ and HDTV formats? Ready for prime time? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bjvircks Posted October 19, 2006 Report Share Posted October 19, 2006 I don't have a recommendation, just a question... Have you ever tried recording to DVD on the move??? I'm toying with the idea of mounting a minicam and hooking it up to my DVD camcorder but have concerns about whether the mechanism would work and if it would wear out too fast. Anybody got any recent experience with this stuff? Brad Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RDY_2_Carve Posted October 19, 2006 Report Share Posted October 19, 2006 I have a panasonic 3CCD Mini-DV cam and it's been really good to me. They are really cheap now too like $400-600 at CC and BB. You won't be dissapointed. I wouldn't take the plunge on HD cams just yet. They are still fairly expensive and I'm sure they will go down in the next few years once they become more common. Just my $.02 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pokkis Posted October 19, 2006 Report Share Posted October 19, 2006 I've been usin now few season Panasonic 3CCD gs-70 and been very happy to results. I have also using it as recorder for head-cam without any problems, like in this clip : http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=7181414079324553369 But if you are Sony user i would take look for Sony HDR-HC3 which is great cam, unfortunately it does not have analog video input but no other major flaws. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wvrocks Posted October 19, 2006 Report Share Posted October 19, 2006 I looked into the Samsung SC-X210L recently. It has a remote cam that you can use as a helmet cam included. Its tiny and has expandable memory. It seems like it would be great for filming at the mountain. The downside is that the video quality isn't very good and you are limited to 90 min of video with a 2gb card added. At least that's what the reviews I've read say. http://www.circuitcity.com/ssm/Samsung-Sports-Camcorder-SC-X210L/sem/rpsm/oid/147046/catOid/-13063/rpem/ccd/productDetail.do ________ lesbians Cams Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
skategoat Posted October 19, 2006 Author Report Share Posted October 19, 2006 I looked into that Samsung a year ago and it got some pretty bad reviews. Those 3CCD Panasonics are looking like really good deals at $599 CDN. Off to Best Buy to get a look at one. Too bad Sony doesn't make a Mini-DV 3CCD model. Looks like my batteries and accessories will go to waste. Anyone need them? Thanks for the input. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RDY_2_Carve Posted October 19, 2006 Report Share Posted October 19, 2006 I did alot of research before I purchased. You cannot go wrong with any of the Panasonic 3CCD models. Definately check out this site: www.camcorderinfo.com Good luck! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
skategoat Posted October 19, 2006 Author Report Share Posted October 19, 2006 I did alot of research before I purchased. You cannot go wrong with any of the Panasonic 3CCD models. Definately check out this site: www.camcorderinfo.com Good luck! The reviewers on that site seem to have a lot of negative opinions on Panasonic's newer line. Which model do you have? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RDY_2_Carve Posted October 20, 2006 Report Share Posted October 20, 2006 Yeah I noticed that after I posted the link. I have the GS150 and love it. I've had it for almost a year now. It has a lot of manual control features but they are mostly menu driven (no focus ring around the lens for example). Mine would be the generation before the newest Panasonics. The model above mine in the same generation was 3.3MP and had the focus ring and a couple other nice features that mine didn't have. I'm more of a point and shoot kind of guy anyways so I couldn't justify all the extras on it. The still camera portion of mine is a piece of junk-email quality at best. Keep in mind I have a Digi SLR so I'm pretty much tainted on picture quality. This shouldn't affect your decision though as most camcorders have terrible picture quality with the built in cameras. I didn't read the whole review on the new models but it seems Panasonic has gone the "Sony" route and put in similar features as the Sony's "Easy mode". Keep in mind the reviewer is not a point and shoot type of guy-he wants every bit of manual control options he can get, and those features weigh heavily in his reviews. It looks like Panasonic jumped on the bandwagon with Sony to help consumers with "ease of use" but they've taken away some of the nice manual control features. I'd imagine the previous generation models can be had pretty cheap if you don't like the new generations features. That website is very useful for comparing camcorders-just keep in mind the reviewer is a professional and not a random consumer. Lastly I don't think you'd be dissapointed even with the newer Panasonic lineup. If your main concern is video quality then you'll be very happy with any of the 3CCD models regardless of features. Best of luck! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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